On 6/3/2020 8:07 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, June 3, 2020 at 4:06:48 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 6/3/2020 6:42 PM, John B. wrote:
On Wed, 3 Jun 2020 16:28:48 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 6/3/2020 3:33 PM, wrote:

The end result would be a shifting/braking system that has extremely light touch without ever having to recharge a battery. What do you gain by electronic shifting other than automatic compensation for front chain-line?

I'm puzzled by the high value some people place on a "light touch,"
whether braking or shifting. ISTM light acting controls are a benefit
only up to a point.

Brakes that can lock a wheel with a few ounces of lever force make no
sense to me.

Yes, shifters shouldn't take a full handshake grip to move; but
everything since the invention of SunTour's ratchet shifters seem light
enough to me. I certainly have no trouble clicking a bar end index lever.

Are people's fingers too tired because of excessive typing?


But Frank. It's New! Its Electric (or hydraulic) and It Costs More....
It's gotta be better!

I've still got down tube friction shifters on my Bangkok Bike. I took
a short ride last Sunday while we were in town and the shifters
worked! Just like thay have worked for probably the last 30 years :-)

One of our friends rides a beautiful mid-1980s Trek. (That's different
from the other beautiful 1980s Trek I rebuilt for a friend who doesn't
ride it.) She's a retired lady and daily rider.

Her downtube shifters are SunTour, but non-ratchet models. I've thought
about getting some matching ratchet shifters (Power Shifters) off Ebay
as a surprise gift for her. But she doesn't really need them; she likes
her shifters fine. She must have more hand strength than Tom!

I could have sworn I had a set of those Power Shifters in my junk boxes,
but they seem to have vanished onto some other bike.

I think that the curmudgeon handbook, chapter six, has a lengthy discussion of the benefits of DT friction shifters. IIRC, they a (1) slow and imprecise shifting, (2) missed shifts, (3) conspicuous contrarianism, (4) longevity like an incurable skin condition, (5) inconvenient location, and (6) conspicuous contrarianism. Clearly superior to any STI/Ergo like system.

Another potential NYT headline: "Krygowski doesn't like downtube shifters!"

Which is true. At least three of my bikes came with them. Decades ago, I
changed those to bar ends, which I do like.

But IME downtube index shifting is extremely quick and precise - at
least, once you get your hand to that inconvenient location.

--
- Frank Krygowski